


Intervention

by crumplelush



Series: tumblr prompts [4]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Panic Attacks, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-05 00:13:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3097796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crumplelush/pseuds/crumplelush
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“This is an intervention” Billy announces and Tommy just shuts the door in his face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intervention

**Author's Note:**

> This fic contains Tommy talking to Billy about what happened to him at juvie. Tommy has a panic attack and there is mention of horrible events (see tags for details). Please don't read if you think you'll be triggered by it.

“This is an intervention” Billy announces and Tommy just shuts the door in his face.

He’s already back on the couch and playing his game when he smells ozone and sees the faint blue light out of the corner of his eye. “What’s the point of knocking on my door if you’re just going to teleport in anyway?” he complains, not even bothering to look away from his screen.

“I was trying to be polite” Billy says as he throws his backpack and hoodie into the armchair before collapsing on the sofa next to Tommy. “Turn off your Xbox. We need to talk.”

“No we really don’t” Tommy mutters as he chainsaws an opponent in the face. 

“Tommy” Billy says, exasperation already in his voice and Tommy wants to push it so that Billy will leave, but for some reason he finds he can’t. So he turns off the game and sits back on the sofa, grabbing one of the throw cushions that Kate had bought him and hugging it to his chest.

“What? Just say whatever it is you want to say and then leave me in peace to violently dismember animated characters.”

Tommy can’t decipher the look on Billy’s face, but he remembers the word intervention and tries to work out exactly what the hell Billy thinks Tommy needs to sort out. There’s actually a lot of stuff that Billy could pick. Tommy lives in a shitty one room apartment that has kitchen appliances down one wall, and a shared bathroom down the hall. His job is working for some courier firm since he didn’t get a proper education. His lack of education itself, come to think of it. But Tommy doubts any of that is it. Billy has been surprisingly cool about Tommy’s life choices.

“I think it’s time you stopped this ridiculous denial and accepted your feelings” Billy says.

Tommy narrows his eyes. “And what feelings exactly are you talking about?” he says, body tense and ready to strike out.

Billy looks almost apologetic as he replies “Your feelings for Noh-Varr”.

There’s a beat of silence before Tommy explodes. Literally. The throw cushion becomes a casualty of Tommy’s anger as he leaps to his feet and shouts.

“What the fuck are you on about Kaplan? Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean everyone else is. Jeez, I thought that whole ‘homosexual recruitment’ thing was just a myth.”

"You can try and stay in Narnia all you like but I've seen the way you look at him. We all have."

"Wait, so you're all fucking talking about me behind my back? Some friends you are. So much for _family_ " he sneers the word. "I think you should leave." 

"No, not until this has been sorted out."

"There's nothing to sort out!" Tommy shouts as he jumps to his feet and starts pacing. He needs to be on his feet. To his annoyance Billy doesn't stand up. In fact he leans against the back of Tommy's couch and watches calmly as Tommy paces like a caged tiger.

"I don't know why you're so adamant about this. You _know_ we're not going to judge you. _Obviously_. We just want you to be happy."

"SHUT UP! You have no idea what you're talking about! Are you so bored that you feel the need the meddle in everyone else's life? Well I don't want or need your _help_ " - he says it like its a dirty word - "and there's nothing going on. I don't have any feelings. For Noh-Varr or anyone else. So you can just leave now."

Billy doesn’t move. He just crosses his legs and looks at Tommy as though he’s waiting for something. Well fine. If Billy won’t leave then Tommy will.

“Screw you Kaplan. Call me when you decide to stop being an asshole”, Tommy says and makes to move towards the door.

“Wait!” Billy says and he springs to his feet, flinging a hand out in Tommy’s direction. It’s glowing blue and Tommy doesn’t have time to wonder about it before he feels himself being lifted off of his feet and floating in the air.

His throat closes up and he can’t breathe. Sweat is dripping down his back, and tries desperately to focus. He’s in his apartment, having an argument with his kind-of brother. He’s not back in the facility, he’s not, he’s not, he’s...

It doesn’t work. He squeezes his eyes shut and he can feel the band around his waist holding him off the ground. Rendering his legs useless. The cuffs on his wrists dig in and stop him from moving. He can smell the bleach they use to clean the rooms. Clean the blood. It makes him want to gag. He’s breathing fast, hyperventilating really, and he can hear the guard calling his name.

“Tommy? Tommy, shit, Tommy.” They sound worried.

But that can’t be right. They never worried before. Not even that one time they cut too deep, hit an artery and he nearly died. And the guards never call him Tommy. He’s Thomas, always. Mr Shepherd if they’re especially displeased.

He can still hear his name being called and it takes all his effort of will to open his eyes. He’s met with Billy’s worried face, and all of a sudden he comes back to himself. He’s no longer floating above the ground. He’s laying on the sofa in his room. Billy is knelt next to the sofa and when Tommy opens his eyes he falls forward so he’s half lying on Tommy.

“Oh thank god!” he says, as he clings to Tommy like a limpet. Tommy is still breathing hard and he just reaches up and hugs Billy back while waiting for his breathing to return to normal.

They stay like that for a good five minutes. Just clinging on to each other and not speaking. Billy is stroking Tommy’s hair and he feels like he should be annoyed or something by this, but it feels nice and calming and his heart is still racing. He doesn’t want to ever let go of Billy.

But they can’t stay like that forever and at some point Billy lets go and gets to his feet, pulling Tommy into a sitting position on the sofa. Billy fetches two glasses of water and returns to the sofa, making Tommy drink one. He’s sat very close to Tommy, a lot closer than he normally allows, but Billy’s presence is comforting and Tommy doesn’t want him to go away.

“I’m so sorry”, Billy says. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m really sorry for whatever I did. Tell me so that I can make sure I don’t do it again.”

A part of Tommy is yelling at him to get away from Billy. That he shouldn’t be doing this. But a much bigger, much louder part is saying _Billy is safe_ and that’s the part that ultimately wins out.

“I. In juvie they. They used to experiment on me. Hold me off of the ground so I couldn’t run away and... do things to me.”

“Holy shit” Billy breathes and his face is contorted in horror.

“Yeah” Tommy replies, and he could leave it there. Leave it at that, but he can feel the words building up inside him with nothing to hold them back. Like Billy has burst open the dam walls, and suddenly the whole story pours out.

Once he starts he can’t stop and he’s shaking and he’s crying but Billy has his arms around him, and he’s crying too, and that shouldn’t make Tommy feel better but it does.

He finishes and they sit in silence for a few minutes.

“Well now I can understand why you wanted to blow them up we freed you”, Billy says and Tommy laughs. “Is it wrong that I want to track them all down and wish them out of existence?”

“Well I’ve been doing that for years little bro. Luckily for them I don’t have your powers though so they’re still breathing.”

For some reason Billy finds that amusing and he starts laughing. Tommy can’t help but join in. It’s borderline hysterical but it feels good to laugh after the crying and panic attack of the last half an hour. They finally calm down and Billy lets go of Tommy, shifting back to his side of the sofa. Tommy is kind of sad to see him go, but they can’t cuddle all night.

“So what I don’t get is why this happened now? I mean, you’ve been lifted off the ground by magic tons of times before. Sometimes against your will. What made today particularly bad?”

Tommy shifts uncomfortably. This is not something that he’d ever wanted to talk about, ever. He knows that if he tells Billy he doesn’t want to talk about it then Billy will back off. There’s no way he’d risk Tommy having another bad reaction. But something has shifted in their relationship in the last thirty minutes, and Tommy has already told Billy a lot of stuff that he never expected to say out loud. So he takes a deep breath and goes for it.

“Because of what we were talking about before. What you were saying about Noh-Varr. About me. I was already thinking about juvie then.”

“What, why?” Billy asks, obviously confused.

“The day before my powers kicked in, before I blew up my school. My da- Frank walked in on me and my friend Neil. We. We were, uh.” Tommy stops, unable to say the word. He glances at Billy, and from the look on his face he knows exactly what Tommy is about to say. He takes another deep breath, clenches his fist and continues.

“Neil and I. We were kissing. And Frank went crazy. I don’t know what he and Mary were planning on doing but they never got the chance. The next day I blew up the school and the doctors from the facility showed up to take me away. I remember Frank telling Mary that if they could cure my mutation then maybe they could cure me of being a faggot as well.”

Billy flinches at the slur. Tommy doesn’t blame him.

“So it turns out that the anti-mutant brigade are vehemently anti-gay as well. Conversion therapy was a big thing in the facility. They used to attach electrodes to me and I’d get an electric shock every time I...” Tommy trails off, suddenly unable to continue.

“They tortured you. They tortured you for being a mutant and liking boys – two things you can’t help about yourself.”

“Yeah, pretty much. And I know it’s stupid and I know they’re wrong and that there’s nothing wrong with liking boys. I don’t judge you and Teddy at all, I’m glad you have each other. It’s just that I can’t. Any time I think about a guy like that I feel sick and I have them back in my head telling me how disgusting I am.”

“That’s so messed up.”

“It’s not so bad. I mean, I do like girls as well so it’s not like I have to live like a monk. And yeah, it was fucking horrible, but as long as I don’t think about it then it’s OK, you know? And that’s why I can’t think about Noh. I just can’t.”

Billy nods understandingly. “I get it. That sucks because he clearly likes you and I think you two could have something good together, but I understand. I wish I could do something to help.”

“Thanks, I appreciate the thought. There is something you could do.”

“Anything.”

“Can you talk to the others. Tell them to stop talking about this. Because I don’t think I can handle it.”

“Of course. No problem.”

After that they play video games for a while, before Billy has to head off home. Alone with his thoughts Tommy starts to consider things. He’d always known that Noh had more than a passing interest in him, he wasn’t blind. But the fact that all of their friends also knew and were waiting for them to do something was something else entirely.

He likes Noh and, as Billy said, he thinks they might actually work together. Tommy hates the way that some racist homophobic assholes from years ago have gotten so far under his skin that they’re making him miss out on something potentially good.

He pulls out his laptop and starts researching ways to recover from aversion therapy. It’ll be a long process, but hopefully worth it in the end.

While Tommy could have done without the panic attack and freak out this evening, they seem to have done something good. He’s closer than ever to his soul twin, and he might be finally starting to heal from the damage done to him as a teenager. 

_A new year, a new start_ he thinks to himself as he goes through the Google results. He’s feeling positive for the first time in ages. Things are finally looking up.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like my fic. I'm crumplelush over on tumblr if you want to chat or throw me a tumblr prompt or something.


End file.
